He does not give up. Although his chances of preventing Kalle Rovanpera from being crowned champion this year are slim, Ott Tanak is still fighting and has already placed himself as the first leader in Rally New Zealand. The Estonian won the super special stage that opened the test ahead of Craig Breen and Thierry Neuville, the trio that leads the standings after this first ‘snack’.
A totally different section to what the rest of the rally will be, since it was a 1.78-kilometre urban track on asphalt located in Auckland. A special that began with a wet floor after the rains that had previously fallen, but which gradually dried up as the cars passed by. And, although he explained that “my head was spinning and I had no idea where the road was going”, Tanak set the fastest time and took the lead. Regarding the fight for the title, he assured that “We’ll see what we can do. It is not in our hands.”
Previously the ‘shakedown’ was disputed on the Inland Road section, in which Rovanpera set the best time, but only a tenth better than Neuville and Oliver Solberg and two ahead of Tanak. The ‘breakfast’ before the first stage, which will be the longest of the rally, with 158 timed kilometers without intermediate assistance.
Classification
1. Tanak-Jarveoja (Est/Hyundai), 1m45.8s
2. Breen-Nagle (Irl/Ford), at 0.9
3. Neuville-Wydaeghe (Bel/Hyundai), at 1.6
4. Katsuta-Johnston (Jap/Toyota), at 2.0
5. Evans-Martin (GBR/Toyota), at 2.2
6. Rovanpera-Halttunen (Fin/Toyota), at 2.6
